


Just another summer job

by manateehugger



Category: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-03
Updated: 2014-03-03
Packaged: 2018-01-14 09:23:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1261207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/manateehugger/pseuds/manateehugger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Martin Kosti reminisces about how work at Vorkosigan house. Set towards the end of Memory. Anything that seems non-canon is all Martin's fault.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just another summer job

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [KarenHunt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KarenHunt/pseuds/KarenHunt) in the [Bujold_Ficathon_2012](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Bujold_Ficathon_2012) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
>  
> 
> What does the story of Memory actually look like from Martin's pov?

Martin was in the garage washing and waxing Milord’s ground car. At the beginning of the summer he had taken this job at Vorkosigan house to avoid having to work for his maternal aunt’s cleaning service. He had thought himself above such mundane tasks now that he was a man and about to take his entrance exams for the Academy. At least until Milord’s mother and her retinue had returned from Sergyar with a mess of armsmen and servants in tow. Martin hadn’t realized how many of them were veterans of various branches of the military, even of Imperial Security. To think that former deep cover spies who had probably killed people in the name of Barrayar now did the laundry for the Vorkosigan’s or for any vor lord, would have been inconceivable only two months ago. But he’d seen it with his own eyes. Of course lots of things happened in this house, a place which seemed to not obey the laws of reason, physics or government. Not surprisingly this was likely due to the fact that at the center of it all was Milord who failed to obey any of these laws as well. 

Martin had been both elated and reticent to start work at Vorkosigan house initially. One day he’d been complaining to his brother about not being able to find work at the little guard booth out front and the next moment the little lord Vorkosigan was offering him a job. Martin remembered the small man sizing Martin up. Then the little man had asked if Martin would mind living in the house with him, as a servant of course. That had raised some concerns. After all Martin had heard some rumors about certain vor lords, such as Count Vortienne, who had those kinds of uses for his personal guard. Of course that concern had been dispelled when Lord Vorkosigan had invited Martin’s mother to work for him as well and after he had given Martin a tour of the house. Then Martin realized the man wasn’t some deviant predator, just eccentric. The man’s cousin Lord Ivan Vorpatril had cornered Martin the first day on the job and had spoken to him about just how eccentric Lord Vorkosigan really was. Lord Ivan had then given him a list of numbers for Martin to call in case Lord Vorkosigan did anything odd. 

Things had gone smoothly enough in the beginning of Martin’s job with Milord. Martin had set up his gaming console and played Barrayaran Resistance: Revenge for Vorkosigan Vashnoi, for several hours straight with only a few breaks to bring Milord food those first few days. The little man didn’t go out much and had no guests to entertain in the beginning. 

Things had started changing when Milord decided to take a trip out to the country. When they returned Imperial Security men started showing up at the house; there were two of them in the same week. Then Milord had asked Martin to drive him to ImpSec headquarters to see his old boss. Something was wrong with Captain Illyan, the chief- former chief of Imperial Security and Milord had wanted get to the bottom of it. That had led to him being forcibly thrown out of ImpSec HQ. Martin still wasn’t sure if he should have done something more, but he was certainly no match for a trained ImpSec agent. After Milord had gotten thrown out he had just sat on the curb a few minutes looking really introspective. Then Milord had burst into laughter. 

That had scared Martin. Looking after eccentric vor lords was one thing but Martin really couldn’t be responsible for insane ones. When Martin had brought Lord Vorkosigan home he had gone to the commconsole and called Lord Vorpatril to report the events. Astonishingly Lord Vorpatril had brushed this off with a comment of “oh, that’s just Miles being Miles.”

So Lord Vorkosigan had brooded then and that day they went to see the emperor and Lord Vorkosigan walked out of that meeting with an Imperial Auditor’s chain, like it was no big deal. There were only eight or so Imperial Auditors on the three planets combined and they were only required to answer to the emperor. Meanwhile the little lord walked out as if wearing that chain was the most natural thing in the world!

So Martin drove everyone back to ImpSec HQ but he didn’t get to see lord Vorkosigan take down the ImpSec agents because he had to drivew the emperor’s armsmen back to the Imperial Residence. A few days went by and then Captain Illyan was invited to come stay at Vorkosigan house. After Captain Illyan moved in butlering, dish washing, and chauffeuring really cut into Martin’s game playing time. Not that he dared to complain about it to anyone. Captain Illyan terrified him. He had bumped into the man standing in the hallway one day without Milord being present to deflect the attention away from Martin.

“You should work on a different response to fear besides holding your breath, boy. Otherwise you’ll spend the majority of your basic training passed out at the feet of your sergeant,” Captain Illyan had noted with amusement. 

 

Martin had recounted this story to his brother later.

Corporal Kosti only frowned and leaned in to whisper, “you mean he was just wandering the halls? Martin didn’t you hear that something happened to his memory? Maybe he was lost. You could have at least tried to offer him directions.” 

“Well how was I supposed to know? I mean he is the chief of ImpSec. Who would have thought he could get lost,” Martin argued back, chagrined. 

 

Then they all went to Vorkosigan Surleau for a vacation. But it wasn’t really a vacation for Martin since he spent several hours cleaning fish. He could smell it on himself for several days afterwards, no matter how much he bathed. That had been horrible. Worse was that the two men had gotten the fish by blowing them out of water with an improvised grenade. They hadn’t brought Martin along so he hadn’t even had a chance to try making one of his own. Martin thought that would be a useful skill to impress his friends. But he still didn’t know how it was done and the little lord wouldn’t show him. 

Then the Vicereine of Sergyar returned with her retinue and that really cut into Martin’s game playing time, especially when the more senior servants gave him an earful on his improper etiquette. 

Then they were driving all over the place between Vorkosigan house and ImpSec at strange hours of the day and night. Milord had a seizure one evening and even after Martin reported it to Lord Ivan nobody did anything about it. Which Martin thought was weird but he wasn't vor and he figured maybe it was a vor thing to try to kill yourself in the name of duty. Martin was a little worried that the stress was getting to Milord. He would have protested more strenuously except Milord was apparently solving a mystery and Martin thought it was really cool that he was there to watch it unfold. Well, sort of. The little lord never explained any of it to him but it seemed important. He had tried asking the little lord again about being permitted to carry a stunner with him during these drives. But after the disastrous incident in the back garden Milord just sighed.

He’d said, “Martin I- you never - if we’re ever in danger I need you to just sit tight and wait for Imperial Security to handle the situation. Or use your wristcomm to call them, ok?”  
So Martin never got to shoot anyone during his employment with Lord Vorkosigan. Though he would be working in the house for another two days so there was always a chance, Martin supposed. Oh, and Milord solved his case, though Martin still wasn’t clear on what the outcome was. Except that General Haroche was removed from his position as acting chief of ImpSec and Allegre was put in. It had certainly been an educational summer, Martin reflected.


End file.
